The Seattle Sounders U-17 Academy squad recently returned from the first round of Generation adidas Cup qualifying, where they took on Sporting Kansas City, LA Galaxy and Portland Timbers. An annual tournament involving each MLS youth side, the GA Cup is a billed as a showcase for the future stars of American soccer, and it’s one that the Seattle youth system has enjoyed plenty of success at in recent years.
Last year, the Academy staff opted to bring a dozen of the brightest prospects in the younger age groups along with them, hoping to use the elite competition to test them in a world-class environment and accelerate their development. After a strong showing in the first round of qualifying, a group of players -- Ray Serrano, Josh Atencio, Danny Robles and Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez -- all played up, and would go on to become regulars with both the Sounders U-16s and various U.S. Youth National Teams.
“The GA Cup is the highest level of youth soccer,” said Academy Technical Director Marc Nicholls. “Ultimately when you talk about player development evolving and changing with the increasing demands of the professional game, these are the environments that are going to make better players.”
A key piece of player development is exposing young prospects to higher levels of competition, putting them in an environment where they must find ways to win and implement their brand of soccer against quality opposition. Continually facing quality soccer players, especially ones that are older, is key to accelerating development and preparing the young Sounders for the transition to the professional game.
With an eye to the future, the Academy staff opted for a relatively young roster for this year’s GA Cup, with 10 players capable of participating in this event again next year.
From a development perspective, the three teams the Sounders faced offered unique challenges, which served as an important lesson for their tactical understanding. The Academy staff’s philosophy is to develop intelligent, problem-solving players who can construct solutions on how to break down a difficult opponent on the fly, so squaring off against three distinct styles of play offered a necessary challenge for the young Sounders.
“We played some very good teams, and all three teams were very different and that was obviously enriching for our players,” said Nicholls. “There was a KC team that was very good in possession, LA was very dynamic in the attack, and Portland that defended deep and countered.”
As a youth system with the mandate of developing local players to one day play for the First Team, the Academy coaches ask themselves the same question whenever they participate in elite showcases: Did we have the best player on the field? In each of the three matches, that answer was a resounding, yes.
Midfielder Daniel Leyva, who signed with the club from Las Vegas prior to the season, played up with the U-17s at GA Cup and was often the best player on the pitch. A No. 10 capable of playing as a No. 8, Leyva impressed with his close control in tight spaces and vision to pick out a clever pass. Despite being just 13-years old, he played a vital role in the Sounders’ expansive, technical brand of soccer, which drew plaudits from the other team’s coaches as well as the MLS Head of Competition, Alecko Escandarian.
Ray Serrano, who scored hat trick against San Jose Earthquakes in last year’s GA Cup qualifying, again showed flashes of his massive potential, playing against elite youth team players with similar aspirations of making it to the First Team. Playing as both a right winger and a No. 9, the Moses Lake native bagged three goals against SKC and LA Galaxy.
Ultimately, events such as GA Cup are about providing hyper-talented youth team prospects with an opportunity to play against elite competition in a professional environment. When some of these players eventually make it to the professional ranks and play their first MLS or USL road match, they can draw upon their experiences from GA Cup.
Results
- Sounders FC 2 vs. Sporting KC 2 (SKC win on PKs)
- Sounders FC 2 vs. LA Galaxy 2 (Galaxy win on PKs)
- Sounders FC 0 vs. Portland Timbers 1
